Article
Plant Sciences
Ruth Gottlieb, Michal Gruntman
Summary: This study examines the effect of above-ground light competition cues on the directional root placement of Portulaca oleracea. The results show that root proliferation increases in the direction of soil nutrient patches and is also influenced by the light competition cue, regardless of the location of the soil patches. This suggests that plant responses below ground may be regulated by above-ground neighbour cues.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Weiye Huang, Wenlong Li, Jing Xu, Xuanlong Ma, Changhui Li, Chenli Liu
Summary: This study uses machine learning and data mining techniques to build an above-ground grassland biomass prediction model and achieve optimal inversion. The results show that the Lasso and RFE_SVM models can effectively select the best features, with the GPR model achieving the best outcomes. The findings provide scientific basis for grassland resource monitoring and estimation.
Article
Ecology
Jose Manuel Fernandez-Guisuraga, Victor Fernandez-Garcia, Reyes Tarrega, Elena Marcos, Luz Valbuena, Rayo Pinto, Paula Monte, David Beltran, Sara Huerta, Leonor Calvo
Summary: This study evaluated the effects of short- and long-term grazing abandonment on the ability of mountain grasslands to sustain multiple ecosystem functions. The results showed that grazing exclusion significantly decreased overall ecosystem multifunctionality, especially in long-term exclusion areas. However, the decline in multifunctionality in short-term exclusion areas was not significant compared to grazed areas.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Evan S. Waite, Gregory R. Houseman, William E. Jensen, Molly M. Reichenborn, Mary L. Jameson
Summary: In recent years, there has been a sharp decline in beneficial insect numbers, which negatively affects food crops and wildlife. This study examines the response of ground beetles to CRP restoration and management, and finds that moderate levels of cattle grazing do not have a negative impact on ground beetle communities and may even have a positive effect on abundance, biomass, and diversity in tallgrass regions.
Article
Ecology
Jane M. Lucas, Jayne Jonas, Angela N. Laws, David H. Branson, Steven C. Pennings, Chelse M. Prather, Michael S. Strickland
Summary: This study examined the interactions between herbivore species and functional diversity with nutrient availability in shaping above- and below-ground ecosystems. Results showed that herbivores affected plant biomass, richness, and soil microbial communities, and interactions with fertilizer influenced below-ground carbon availability and microbial biomass. The effects of herbivore diet and taxonomic composition on ecosystems highlight the importance of considering multiple diversity metrics in studies of herbivore-mediated effects.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Erliang Gao, Hui Ma, Ting Yang, Christopher N. Kaiser-Bunbury, Zhigang Zhao
Summary: Human-mediated environmental change is transforming ecosystems globally. Evaluating the impact of meadow transformations on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is crucial. This study found that meadow transformations on the Tibetan Plateau influence above- and below-ground ecological networks and ecosystem functioning simultaneously.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Microbiology
Andrea Du Toit
Summary: This study shows that the resident panicle microbiota in rice controls host metabolism to protect against Ustilaginoidea virens infection.
NATURE REVIEWS MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Csaba Tolgyesi, Csaba Vadasz, Robert Kun, Andras Istvan Csatho, Zoltan Batori, Alida Habenczyus, Laszlo Erdos, Peter Torok
Summary: Grassland restoration globally is seeing progress in addressing biodiversity loss and ecosystem service depletion. The choice of post-restoration management plays a crucial role in the long-term community reassembly, potentially having a comparable impact to the restoration method chosen. Selecting an optimal post-restoration management strategy is essential for ensuring successful restoration outcomes in grasslands.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Hui Yu, Yufeng Wu, Liting Niu, Yafan Chai, Qisheng Feng, Wei Wang, Tiangang Liang
Summary: Accurate assessments of grassland above-ground biomass are essential for sustainable utilization and protection of grassland resources. This study trained a machine learning model to predict grassland AGB dry weight and found an increasing trend in spatial distribution from northwest to southeast on the Tibetan Plateau. By combining different methods, the model's predictive accuracy was improved.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Isa Muhammad Zumo, Mazlan Hashim, NoorDyana Hassan
Summary: This study utilized satellite data and ground-based measurements to estimate grassland biomass in Jibiro grazing land, Nigeria, with the best-suited vegetation index for modeling identified. The results aid in planning rotational grazing management and contribute to similar ecosystems planning.
GEOCARTO INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Ming Zhao, Michel Loreau, Raul Ochoa-Hueso, Hongxiang Zhang, Junjie Yang, Yunhai Zhang, Heyong Liu, Yong Jiang, Xingguo Han
Summary: Increased atmospheric nitrogen deposition has significant impacts on biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems. This study found that the effects of nitrogen addition on above-ground plant beta-diversity differed from those on the below-ground soil seed bank beta-diversity. While above-ground beta-diversity initially increased and then decreased with increasing nitrogen addition, below-ground beta-diversity showed a linear decrease. These findings suggest decoupled dynamics of plant communities and their soil seed bank under nitrogen enrichment. The changes in beta-diversity were driven by species substitution, which was influenced by differential responses of above-ground vegetation and soil seed bank to nitrogen-induced changes in environmental heterogeneity, soil inorganic nitrogen concentrations, and soil acidification.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mitchell Donovan, Ross Monaghan
Summary: Agricultural expansion and overgrazing contribute significantly to soil degradation and erosion, impacting land productivity and environmental health. A novel model was developed to capture the effects of grazing intensity, soil properties, and ground cover changes, which were integrated into the traditional soil loss model for better assessment. Proactive decisions to reduce treading damage and avoid high-density grazing can be more effective than reactive practices in mitigating soil losses from grazed lands.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Chaonan Wang, Xiang Li, Xiaoming Lu, Yang Wang, Yongfei Bai
Summary: Grazing in grasslands can regulate functional trait composition through intraspecific trait variation and species turnover. This study examined the relative roles of these variables in controlling grazing-induced shifts in community functional composition. The results showed that aboveground traits shifted towards grazing avoidance strategies and belowground traits shifted towards conservation strategies with increasing grazing intensity. Functional tradeoffs were found between plant individual biomass and density, as well as between leaf area and density. Intraspecific trait variation predominantly governed shifts in community functional trait composition, while changes in mean trait values among plant species were mainly triggered by species turnover.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Josephine Lesage, Grey Hayes, Karen Holl
Summary: Livestock grazing is commonly used to maximize vegetation diversity in grassland ecosystems. This study found that grazed prairies continued to have lower vegetation height and greater native annual forb richness compared to ungrazed prairies. However, severe drought and increasing aridity may be driving declines in native annual forb richness in grazed prairies.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Chu Wang, Linghao Li, Yuchun Yan, Yurong Cai, Dawei Xu, Xu Wang, Jinqiang Chen, Xiaoping Xin
Summary: The conversion of grassland into cropland led to significant decreases in soil organic carbon and total nitrogen contents, while total phosphorus content increased in deeper soil layers. Abandonment of cropland resulted in higher levels of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen compared to cropland, although not reaching levels of native grassland. Grassland had the highest nutrient contents and ratios, followed by abandoned land and then cropland.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2021)